For informational purposes I will report the equipment being used for this review. Many of you know it, but for those of you that don't, here goes... Pioneer Elite VSX-45TX 7.1 channel 100WPC reciever. Pioneer Elite DV45A multi-format DVD player. It is capable of all forms of multi-channel music, stereo audio, and DVD playback. Custom Adire KIT81 mains and the Adire KIT81 center channel, again, custom. Custom Adire KIT51s surrounds Pioneer SD533HD5 Widescreen HDTV RPTV Above are a couple pics of my newest project, "Dualie". Dual Koda 10s, 500 watts, in a few feet sealed, lots o' 'fil . I wrapped it in Ribbon Mahogany, with a slight curly texture... a very pretty wood. For protection I used a few coats of tung oil. The face of the unit is in a satin black, about 6 coats worth (and another 4 of primer) and adorned with a black grille. I wanted the unit to be less obtrusive while viewing a film then the mains I built earlier this year. Spike feet couple the unit to the floor. I wanted XBL2 in the house, but I was not interested in the massive Tumult. I was concerned it would overpower the rest of the room. I liked the Koda, without a doubt, and I figured I would give it a shot in the home. The 2 perform admirably. Massive extention and output made the Rava look like a rookie. The Rava has always been a solid performer, with amazing output, but the dual Kodas are crushing. With the auto set-up on the Elite, the subwoofer overall output was boosted +3.5dBs with the Rava to reach referance at 0 on the volume indicator, with a moderate boost to the lower 30Hz frequency on the EQ of +1dB. In comparison, with the dual Kodas the auto setup set itself at, and this is not a misprint, -5.5 Db, with a ruler flat EQ. The location, angle, everything the same. The unit takes up a bit more than twice as much overall space, but the footprint is almost the same. I say almost, because there is an additional 1.5 inches of depth added to the Dualie. But it is a serious presance in the room, simply amazing. So far I have viewed LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring. In the opening battle sequence where Isildor cuts off Sauron's hand, and the shockwave wipes out all the Orcs, the room absolutely explodes the roll starts out somewhat high, then goes extremely deep. The room erupts into this silent mass of moving air, all feeling with no distortion or coloration present. You feel it in your gut... Walls rattle. Then the helmet of Sauron hits the ground and the Dualie again displays its accuracy by quickly and powerfully reverting back to an audible masterpiece, rather then the silent explosion just a few seconds before. Transitions and speed are amazing, and the depth and output are beyond what I ever expected. Thus far I have stuck with film, but the apparent TR was very nice. I will take some time to listen to multi-channel music this weekend (I do not listen to my music with my subs on, unless it was recorded multi-channel, I hate the imaging issues it presents) and report on it's SQ then. Right now I am simply stunned.
Nice review. Happy that you didnt go with the ported option? You've already made me need some new mains, and now you're making me want a new sub and to watch LOTR again :ranting:
HB, The Kodas... no doubt, no question, no thought required. I will list more info below, but I wanted to answer you directly. Chad, No doubt, sealed is beyond what I really need, and as you know, I really prefer sealed. The Koda's are vastly superior to anything I have heard in a home rig. So transparent it will shock you, yet at the same time, absolutely moving the room. The driver is all about feeling, no obscured, confused, distorted slop like we normally hear... Amazingly, this thing is better for pure SQ than a Brahma... and you all know my feelings on it's SQ ability. I stuck in some Floyd, SACD Dark Side of the Moon for some music... The unit added a whole new depth to DSOTM I hadn't heard. I have been spoiled to have the B12 in my car for so long, I almost forget what it is like to listen to a standard topology motor, and the typical distortions present in standard designs in a car. But getting into the XBL2 architecture in a home where I have been so used to a standard driver (and in all fairness, the Rava is vastly superior to units 2 times it's pricepoint, easily) is as startleing as my first in car Brahma experiance... but without all the output. Don't get me wrong, these buggers are really loud for their tiny stature, but the Brahma borders on obscene. Bass once again becomes omnidirectional. Localizing the movement is impossible... You feel it in your chest, and all around you. But at the same time it is not there. Image of the SACD becomes considerably better with the removal of localized subbass... and it is amazing really. It was like listening to the DSOTM SACD for the first time. The image, as I am sure you can imagine, is vast with multi-channel surround, but still front heavy (where my sub is located) and somewhat audibly confusing... Adding the Kodas and their amazing transparency brought everything back into perspective. The image exploded in the room, reaching further back behind the front wall, and immensely higher then the ceiling, and lower then the floor. It became utterly enveloping. My wife wanted to watch The Ring this evening. at one point we were watching it and she looked at me very shocked and said... "did we just have an earthquake?" I think that best sums it up... the room moves, but it is so incredibly transparent it is inpercieveable as noise... just like the low notes should be. More to come. I'm going to get into it really hard this weekend, Some Star Wars, Gladiator, more LOTR and some U571... Good moving soundtracks... Who knows, maybe I'll try to break out some of the disapointing medium called DVD-A and see what it does.
Dude, that's so funny you mention that. I was actually going to suggest that movie for your testing. This is because it was what made me fall in love with the Sadhara. Even on small stuff like closing the fridge door, footsteps as they walk across the screen on the hard wood floor, or the closing of a car door just before getting on the ferrie, the impact was felt and intense and sounded sooooo real. Or the movement of stone on stone (probably the "earthquake" your wife was talking about) was imense, but so real sounding. BTW, ROTK with the big elephants is a great test track too. Also check out the Fifth Element soundtrack. Track 2 has a great "bass drop" that I believe goes lower than the FOTR scene. Steven Kephart Adire Audio
Yeah, the depth and clarity of the soundtrack is definately amazing... it really is shocking. My son wanted to watch ROTK actually, and I never thought of the elephant scenes... I will be sure to drop that in. Actually the "earthquake" was when they showed the water on the floor, and it was something I had never heard it before... actually I mean, never felt before . We did not finish the movie yet though, so I did not get to them pushing the cover off the well yet... but this evening when we finish it, I will comment I don't have The Fifth Element though... I may have to scarf that up when I hit Best Buy this afternoon...
